It’s a cruel trick the calendar plays just about every year, as right after what is typically your most profitable time of year comes the giant hole in your P&L sheets not so affectionately known as the post-holiday retail lull. All those shoppers clogging your aisles and ordering online on your websites suddenly disappear in the weeks after the holidays . . . and the silence can be deafening.
Like it or not, during the weeks directly after the holidays your customers revert back to saving and spending money more wisely. According to many economists, as we begin returning to some semblance of economic normalcy for Q4 2013 retail sales, this may actually take a bigger bite out of January 2014 numbers, as consumers will really be cutting back on spending to pay off credit card bills accumulated during the holidays.
While turning this always-difficult sales period around is an uphill battle, there are a few tips and tricks we’ve uncovered that can alleviate the pain just a bit until things pick up later in the year.
“While this is not unexpected or surprising, it remains one of the greatest challenges of retail, how to sustain the interest and momentum of the holiday season after Christmas,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst.
Longtime retail analyst Lauren Sosik was a bit more blunt in discussing the post-holiday lull: “Forget about leading the horse to water after the New Year, when his belly is full, sometimes he just won’t drink.”
What Lull?
All that being said, let’s look at a few things you can do during this period to, one, prepare for the New Year and, two, perk up sales a bit.
Sosik suggests it’s never a bad idea to use the lull to freshen up your store visually. These predictably quiet weeks provide an opportune time to do inventory, clean house and prepare your location for the busier spring months ahead. She also explains that these weeks are a great time to take a critical look at what your customers are seeing when they walk up to and into your store, from exterior signage and graphics to your interior wall signs and POP displays.
“Does what they see actually convey the message you’re attempting to convey?” she asks. “This entire notion of visual merchandising is so often overlooked as retailers are so concerned today with their social media, mobile and e-commerce efforts, but it remains a vital aspect in the success or failure of a retail store. I still place it number two, right behind customer service, on my retail priority list.”
Another important matter worth diving into during the post-holiday lull is catching up on your data mining and marketing. If you’ve been crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s on the customer data front, this time period presents a great opportunity to schedule some regular outreach to your lists.
“Using e-mail, mailing postcards or blanketing special offers to your social media followers are great ways to keep the shopping fires burning when they are typically starting to flicker out,” Sosik added. “While consumer spending might be tightening this time of year, few will pass up a good deal or not want to check out a unique new item.”
Staying Mobile Friendly
If the mobile part of your retail equation isn’t exactly where you’d like it to be, the early part of 2014 is the time to get that shop in order. Make sure your website is mobile friendly and that the shopping experience via smartphone and/or tablet is smooth and easy.
“A growing number of your customers will be looking for post-holiday deals on their mobile devices, and if your site is hard to navigate or load on their smartphone or tablet they are gone in a flash,” explained Bob Hammond, creative director at a New Jersey-based integrated online marketing agency called BizBuz Web. “Everything you do online needs to be mobile compatible today.”
Seeing as this is still fairly new territory for many retailers, it is also worth noting that having a mobile strategy does little if your customers aren’t aware of it. Make sure this effort includes highlighting your mobile strategy and that your customers who spend time shopping with their mobile devices know that you are part of this important mix.
Spring Will Spring
And finally, it may seem a bit far off in the distance, but as most of you already know, May is National Photo Month. Not nearly enough effort and attention is centered around this monthlong promotional opportunity enacted by Congress in 1987. The time to start properly planning for this is during that slow post-holiday lull by preparing special sales, seminars, giveaways, events and the like far in advance of May 1.
You can download the official logo graphics from http://www.pmai.org/npm and you’re off and running. Don’t wait until April for what should be 31 days and 31 ways to call attention to your location. If you start to plan in mid-January, you’ll have something fun and unique to offer your customers for every day that month so you can truly take advantage of this very legit, nationally recognized event.
